Been feeling a bit OFF lately? You may want to think about putting down that cell phone.
Experts are warning the public that too much cell phone use is directly linked to higher rates of stress and anxiety. And too much of those things, of course, can lead directly to chronic disease.
So I would say this is like a drumbeat growing louder and louder - all of the evidence says the same thing: spending too much time on your cell phone is bad for you. And this is yet another study pointing in that direction.
Researchers hooked up test subjects to machines that looked at heart rate, perspiration levels…stuff like that. While they were still hooked up, the researchers took the subjects’ phones and placed them just out of their reach.
A hidden researcher then called the phones. The subjects all underwent significant physiological changes when their phones were ringing and they couldn’t reach them. Their stress levels hit the roof!
Clearly nobody needs more stress in their lives! Especially from a cell phone. Here are my prescriptions:
- Have certain “off-limits” times during the day to set the phone aside.
- If you’re really addicted to being on your phone all day, start small. Slowly work your way to larger chunks of time without it.
- Be mindful that your kids will learn from you. If you’re constantly staring at a screen, don’t expect your little ones to be any different.
- Understand the risks associated with too much cell phone use. Is it worth the increased stress and anxiety?
This number might shock you. According to one nonprofit group, teens are spending as much as six and a half hours PER DAY on their cell phones.
That sounds pretty close to an addiction to me!
No growing child should be spending half of their waking hours staring at a screen. So this is a real problem. And since cell phone technology is still relatively young, a lot of the research is just beginning to come out publicly.
Who knows what the even longer-term effects might be.
